Taming of the Shrew
by gyuumajo
Summary: Ah...finally. Our beloved Youhei-kun takes center stage. Will it be as sappy as all the other romance stories out there? Will it be up to standards?? Read & find out!
1. First Encounter with the Weird kind

Gyuumajo's back in business! *grins* I've been spending too much late nights scribbling, drabbling & finally, I managed to piece together something readable! Sorry for that. I'm a slow writer, I know…

I own nothing. Maybe except the OC & the plot. Others? Not mine…*sob* 'Tis too bad for me!

Well, anyways, enjoy~!

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Why did it turn out this way? Despite all that I'd done, it still turned out wrong. Why doesn't it always have to happen on me? I swear, life itself is out to get me! But why!? We're back to the starting point…why?

Maybe I did something wrong…

Maybe I didn't work hard enough…

Maybe I didn't put my heart into it…but that's the same as not working hard enough, isn't it?

Why then? Why!?!?

"WHY!?!" I screamed at the raring seas, trying to hear myself above the crashing waves.

"You got some powerful lungs there," I started in surprise. I was quite sure no one came here much, or even at all, but my recent failures made me double myself tremendously.

Grinning sheepishly in return, I retorted as best as I could. "Well, I've got lotsa practice. Whenever I'm free, I'll scream for the heck of it…" I hope he could hear the sarcasm…

"Oh?" the dark haired guy before raised an eyebrow. I have a feeling he was going to elaborate but the elaboration that I sensed never came. "Sorry, that was rude of me. I'm Mito Youhei."

"Fuyutsuki Shira,"

"I don't recall a lot of people coming here at all…"

"Funny, I could say the same. I'd always thought I'm the only one in Kanagawa who knew this place,"

"Well, frankly, me too." He paused, an amused look on his face. I swear, if he says something stupid… "Say, how long have you known this place?"

"Since I was, like, seven. I think…why'd you ask?"

"Hey, same here! I can't believe after all these years, we never met each other!" I was shocked! I've been sharing my secret place for 10 years with a guy?! I was sharing my secret place _that not even my best friend knew about_ for 10 years with a guy!?!? Jeez!

"Fuyutsuki-san?"

"H…hai!" I blinked. "Ten years & we've never met. Not even a glimpse of each other's shadows. We're really not meant to meet huh?"

"Don't think that way! I would definitely prefer to think of it as we were not meant to meet until now. Whoever's controlling fate, destiny & the likes must have his or her reason for not letting us meet earlier."

"Really?" Another surprise. This Mito Youhei guy doesn't strike me as a particularly religious person. I'm not a particularly religious person myself but strangely, his words struck a chord deep within me when usually I would say it sounded corny. What's wrong with me today?! I can't be fazed by this…this dark mysterious stranger in t-shirt & jeans with that easy smile & laid-back attitude…can I? "Well, maybe as you'd said…we were only meant to meet now & only now. For whatever reasons we might never know in this lifetime."

"That's the spirit! So, why are you screaming just now? I'm sure you don't just scream for the heck of it, even if it was what you claimed to do,"

"…"

"Come on. It'll feel much better if you say it out. Believe me,"

"…I blew up my chemistry lab, okay? My parents got a letter of warning from my school, third one this year & they have to pay the fines for destruction of school property. And, on top of it, I'm in suspension from school for 3 days. 3 whole days!" Did I just say what I just said? I'm not known as the sarcastic psycho shrewd from the graves beyond for nothing…How could he tear down those emotional blockade I worked so hard on so easily?!?! Or…am I really getting softer? …Iyada~!!! I refuse believe I'm being 'tamed' by a person whom I'd just met for less than an hour!

"You blew up your school lab?! Wow!!" The awe I sensed from him felt real enough, although, I didn't think that was anything to be proud of. "Well, as for me, I'm in suspension too, from fighting in school," He added hastily. "It's for a good cause though."

"*sigh* Oh well. At least yours is for a good cause…" I moaned miserably, covering my face with both hands. "How am I going to face the rest of the school population!? I'm so humiliated!!"

"Don't feel humiliated! There's nothing to be ashamed of because…how many people managed to blow up school labs?! In fact, you should be proud of yourself!"

"What sort of weird theory is that?!?!" I chuckled in spite of my current predicament. By now, all my façade of being the killer bitch from hell was washed down the drain, thanks to a certain Mito-san. *glares inwardly*

"Phew! Finally got to see you laugh. For a minute there, I thought I met a female Rukawa,"

"Rukawa…isn't that the super rookie from Shohoku? …Wait a minute, you mean you're from Shohoku too?!"

"Uh huh!" Oh no… "What's wrong?"

"My parents…they're going to let me finish this term in my current school, which will end in another few more days, before transferring me to…*gulp* Shohoku High,"

Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no…

"You're really transferring to Shohoku? That's wonderful! We might not be the best in anything other than Judo & possibly basketball… but we've got some good people in there. And they don't judge others much there. They just go about doing what they're supposed to do,"

"If you say so…"

"And…" An odd sparkle entered his eyes. 

"And?"

"We have enough labs for you to blow up!" He retreated a yard. Good for him. He really knows how to push a girl's button without getting hurt.

"Mito Youhei~!!!!" I yelled at him, not feeling angry at all actually.

"Hey! I'll even help you!" he called back, grinning. "Then we can go fishing on our 3-day suspension together!!"

End? T.B.C.??

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So how? Like it? Hate it? Wanna flame it? All are welcomed!!

Read & review…

^_~


	2. Pauper turned Prince

Part 2 of the Taming of the Shrewd. This time though, it's an entire chapter on Youhei. Maybe I should change to a better title. Any suggestions??

Disclaimers: I own anyone that does not belong to Inoue Takehiko. =P

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The sound of bike engine being cut off echoed off the walls of this particular street. Mito Youhei took off his helmet & stuffed it in the back of his scooter. Climbing the steps rather tiredly, from the earlier marathon away from a pissed-off girl, he stopped short. A man in a navy blue stood primly in front of his house, checking his watch & glancing around the corridor, unfortunately, catching sight of Youhei turning & getting ready to run downstairs. 

"Oi, chotto matte!" he quickly strode over, grabbing Youhei's shoulder.

"Hanase," he growled in a deep, menacing voice. When the hand refused to leave him, he reached behind, grabbed the hand & pinned the guy in the suit to the parapet, twisting the arm behind his back.

"Woah~, you're good!" That remark caused Youhei to blink in surprise. "Listen, could you please loosen your grip? I have something to give you," And he did. The guy gave a sigh of relief & adjusted his suit jacket. "I'm here today to inform you that you are required to be at the Watanabe Firm tomorrow at 3pm. I'll be at the lobby for you."

"And you are…?"

"Oh! Right… I'm Yamada Kazuki, this is my name card," Youhei watched in amusement as the guy fumble with his briefcase to retrieve the said name card & something else. A white envelop with his name printed in bold on it. "This is also for you. We'll go through everything tomorrow,"

'Why would a lawyer personally come down to find me just to give me a letter?' he thought suspiciously.

"Yamada-san, I don't think a lot of lawyers would do house calls, since you can't charge by the hour, so could you stop beating around the bush & tell me why are you here?"

"…Gomen nasai. I knew you'd feel skeptical about this. I tried raising this to my boss but they said they have to follow exactly as the will said,"

"Will? Who else died & why the hell am I included?" He felt blood drain from his face. The reason he went to his "special place" today was that he received word that both his parents died in an accident in Hokkaido. The local authorities are getting the full story & Youhei knew he would have to look for a lawyer to push forward his emancipation soon. He was still considered a minor & there wasn't anyone related to him who could be his guardian. All of them are either dead or at least 10 miles away. Even if he had some relatives, he wouldn't want to trouble them.

"…We'll know everything tomorrow ok?"

_'We? God, this guy is pathetic…'_ Youhei grimaced inwardly. _'…Now I'm starting to feel like the angel of death or something. Everyone within the 1-metre radius of me will start dying…'_

"Ok, I'll be there tomorrow. I have to know why…and you ain't giving me answers"

"Ok!  See you then,"

~~~

"Yo, Hanamichi. I wouldn't be going to the extra lesson later. Cover up for me okay?" 

"Youhei, are you alright? Your eye bags are so dark we're gonna call in the WHO to inform them that we have a missing panda with us,"

"Sakuragi Hanamichi!! You just cracked your first real joke!! I'm impressed!" The familiar sparkle finally returned to his best friend's dark eyes. "Coz most of the times, you were making lames jokes." 

"Kono yarou~!!" the redhead slapped Youhei's back, causing him to almost trip. "Promise me that the first thing you do is go catch some Zs. I don't want to see you fall asleep on your two feet. You're still human, Youhei. Don't overwork yourself, okay?"

"Yes mom," Youhei forced a grin on his face. He hated lying to people, especially people who cared. But he hated being pitied even more. "Well, I should be going so, see ya tomorrow then."

"Okay,"

Sakuragi Hanamichi, the same red-head monkey who slam dunked on someone else's head, the same red-head monkey who crashed into the gym doors or walls countless of times just to keep the ball in play, the same red-head monkey who forced him else too hard and developed a back problem was lecturing about pushing himself over the limit. 

_'The trip to America did do him more good, not only to his back…'_ Youhei caught himself thinking that thought & hastily stopped himself. He chuckled & boarded the train bound for Watanabe Firm. 

~~~

"Konnichiwa, Mito-kun. You're punctual, unlike most youngsters this days," 

"It's what my parents always taught me, Yamada-san," Youhei plastered a small smile on his face & followed the lawyer. It was only now he had a chance to see Yamada clearly & he was shocked to see that his lawyer was young—25 perhaps. The trip up the elevator was silent, except for the music playing in the background. 

"Well, here we are…my office," the older man held open the door for Youhei to enter. A simple table made of redwood sat in the middle, one armchair on the side near the floor-to-ceiling window, 2 metal frame ones on the other side, facing the armchair. A surprisingly striking lime green couch backed against the wall to the left stood out like a sore thumb in this standard executive office.

"Thought this place looked too dull so I added a little personal touch to it," Yamada nodded towards the couch.

"Sou ka?" The good-natured smile hardened as he let Mito to the table.

"Now, Mito-kun, I'm betting you're wondering who left you the money, am I correct?" the dark-haired youth nodded.

"This person had done a lot to keep his existence unknown to you. But even though he does not approve of your parent's marriage, he still considers you as family," He paused, trying to read the emotions of the currently stoic boy. "I'm sure you could guess who this is by now, can't you?"

"My grandfather?" Mito whispered weakly. For all his life, his only kin were his parents & now, a whole family tree dropped in.

"Yes, your grandfather. He left you a hefty sum but on one condition,"

"…Hai?"

"You have to adopt the lifestyle of the upper-class society,"

"What!?!?" Yamada grinned.

"I know. But think of the money, lad. Other people would kill for that amount of money & all you have to do is to live like the rich!!"

"But my school…I wouldn't be changing school, would I?"

"Nope. Everything stays the same,"

"Phew! For a second there, I thought I would have to study with spoilt rich snobs,"

"Well, you don't have ta. But you DO have to learn all the rules, etiquettes & such," the lawyer gave a light chuckle. "Personally, I'd really like to see how you turn out. Although we've not known each other for long, I do believe you're not accustomed to rules & regulations, especially to your life, no?"

"Uh…jackpot,"

"Alright then, my pauper-turned-prince, I'll have to go through the legal stuffs," Mito groaned & rubbed his temple. "Sorry Youhei-kun, it's in my job description to bore clients with law school jargons."

And thus, the rest of the afternoon was spent going through the details (in simple words at Youhei's insistence).

T.B.C.

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Well, I continued it. I had another idea with Youhei in mind after I finished half of the original part 2 so I scraped the 1st one & used the second idea. It seems more fun. Hope I don't get trashed… More of Shira next chapter…if I remember to write the next chapter.

Read & review people.

^_~


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